Favourite Subgroup/gimmick/concept?

[griffin]

I came across this topic (http://www.otca.com.au/boards/showthread.php?t=4483) today, which was 3 years old, and was wondering what the current opinions are on favourite subgroups or gimmicks over the... since we've had several new series and concepts in that time, and a lot of new members too.

So which is your favourite throughout the history of Transformers?
It doesn't have to be specific to a series either, if it is a subgroup or concept that has been reused or re-imagined over the years.

If it is really tough to pick one, you can say 2 or 3 if you want... just give us a reason why each is your favourite.

[liegeprime]

Dinobots and Constructicons!

I just wish that Hasbro finally comes up with a PROPER Dinobot combiner - the PCC is just half bake. Constrcticons wise well - I know it's now an official Hastak toy but my Giant toy IS a modern day concept of those guys and if Hastak can top that or "Hercules", the possibilities for the constructicons/Devastator is just plain awesome and then have a combiner DINOBOTs to match - double awesome! Say call it Titanotron!:D:D

[VERT]

I like the Dinobots how they are. Just would not be right if they combine.

[Sharky]

Dinobots are still my favorite Subgroup


Dinobots and Constructicons!

I just wish that Hasbro finally comes up with a PROPER Dinobot combiner -

NNNNNNNNNNNNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Dinobots don't Combine... Dinobots Kick Butt!! They Dont need to combine when they can already take down gestalts as a team..


I like the Dinobots how they are. Just would not be right if they combine.

Yes I agree... Energon was sucky enough with the sucky grimlock and sucky swoop COmbining into and even suckier uglier combination....

to me the Dinos are just your elite hard ass troops and thats the way they should stay.

[theshape]

Headmasters - they incorporated humans into the toys, which i found really cool when i was a kid

[5FDP]

Omnibots (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Omnibots) :cool: Surprisingly, I don't have any :D

My fav would have to be the Predacons. Never had them as a kid (they were far too expensive) but have since acquired the reissue. I remember reading issue #25 of the original Marvel comic series over and over. Predaking IS the ultimate warrior!

[Golden Phoenix]

Mini-cons. It's like Pokemon but with Transformers.

Gotta Catch 'em All!

[griffin]

Just so that this topic doesn't get distracted by debate over Dinobots combining (which is an interesting discussion topic), a new topic & poll has been posted up here (http://www.otca.com.au/boards/showthread.php?t=14490).

[GoktimusPrime]

The trailer/combat deck concept. It means that the cab-robot is the action figure, and the trailer becomes a play set. That's what was cool about the original G1 Prime, and they did the same thing with Powermaster Prime and G2 Laser Optimus Prime. I also like the idea of robots being to combine with their trailers to form a super armoured robot -- I really liked G1 Ultra Magnus and Powermaster Prime for this reason; though I didn't think Super Fire Convoy, Armada Superpants Prime and DotM Ultimate Optimus Prime was done as well. :( So, I like the concept if it's executed well (yes, I know that G1 Magnus and PM Prime are bricks - but my 1986/88 self thought they were damn cool :)).

In more recent times I quite liked the concept of Cyber Key gimmicks -- I thought that they were a good example of a non-intrusive gimmicks that didn't compromise or interfere with the toys' engineering too badly (unlike say the Armada and Energon Powerlinx gimmicks). The automorph gimmick in some of the first movie toys was okay too -- though not astounding.


My fav would have to be the Predacons. Never had them as a kid (they were far too expensive) but have since acquired the reissue. I remember reading issue #25 of the original Marvel comic series over and over. Predaking IS the ultimate warrior!
I also never got any of the Predacons as a kid cos they were just too expensive. My cousin had 2 or 3 of them... didn't know any kid who had the whole set though! I focused my finances more on completing the other more affordable gestalt teams (where you only had to get one expensive boxed toy for the head/torso, and the rest were the cheaper carded figures). :) Or in the case of Devastator, just x6 $9 carded toys. :D (not surprisingly Devastator was the first gestalt team that I completed -- either by late 85 or early 86).

[Hursticon]

For me my favourites, Gimmick-wise would look like this:

Combiners/Gestalts
Headmasters & Powermasters
Pretenders
Motorvators
Duo/Trio-Cons (Proto-Combiners)


Subgroup-wise:

Predacons (G1 & BW)
Maximals
Stunticons
Dinobots
Insecticons

[christalcase]

My favourite gimmicks would be combiners, since the combining sequences always looked awesome, and as toys, it's interesting to look at the engineering and thought that went into it to make it possible.

Favourite subgroup would be Team Bullet Train from Robots in Disguise. Their train alternate modes were different and plus, they combined into one of the best combiners ever... I was enthralled when they first appeared in RiD, and while watching the episode, I was thinking "if only they could combine...", so I was so excited when they did by the end of the episode. Their toy form were great too and one of my favourite combiner toys.

[Quickstrike]

I've been putting together some Arms Micron guys over the last few days and man, I do love little dudes that turn into weapons. Especially when you can then combine them into bigger and more ridiculous weapons.

[Tetsuwan Convoy]

Hmm, gimmick wise I love Masters, Headmasters in particular because its a bit like Diaclone, with drivers for the vehicle, but Power and Target are cool as well.

I have a soft spot for Pretenders and would love to see an update on the concept. Not sure why though...

Favourite subgroup are the Dinobots. Why? Because they are dinosaurs that are ROBOTS.

Coolest concept
EVER

[GoktimusPrime]

Hmm, gimmick wise I love Masters, Headmasters in particular because its a bit like Diaclone, with drivers for the vehicle, but Power and Target are cool as well.
Actually the concept was inspired by 鋼鉄ジーグ (Steel Zeeg); another toy line made by Takara. Although unlike Diaclone it was based on a pre-existing manga/anime franchise and not a toy franchise like Diaclone was.


I have a soft spot for Pretenders and would love to see an update on the concept. Not sure why though...
I'd like to see the concept of a human Transformer. It's something I've thought about since 1986/7 -- I remember in 1987 drawing a fan made Transformer who could turn into a human. I thought the concept of Alice from ROTF was cool, but poorly executed (making it impossible for HasTak to ever design a remotely screen accurate looking toy). It's funny... in the special features section of the TF1 DVD, Aaron Archer says that one important thing about Transformers is alt mode kibble -- and he insisted that the movie robots all definitely show this because it's an important aesthetic aspect of a Transfomers' body shape. Yet Alice has NO alt mode kibble in her robot mode (except her tongue; *sigh*) It'd be a much cooler design if the robot mode was running around with human alt mode kibble lying displaced, much like beast mode kibble on the robot mode of Beast Wars Transformers. I think it'd be more interesting to see something that looks a little more like this (http://qagoma.qld.gov.au/__data/assets/image/0017/104192/ARTIFICIAL_INTELLIGENCE.png) (albeit w/ more sophistication) rather than what we saw with Alice, where she just completely flipped inside out and was devoid of any alt mode kibble. :(

[rocman12]

From a kid I've always loved the triple changers and its stayed with me all these years! The autobot bases are also cool as they display well with other TF's. I don't think the deception ones display as well. Though I never understood why metroplex had combiner connectors on his arms and shins.

Best subgroup would have to be the dinobots!!!

[GoktimusPrime]

Though I never understood why metroplex had combiner connectors on his arms and shins.
The 1986 gestalts can all interchange their limbs, or what the Japanese called "Scramble". Metroplex was marketed/promoted in Japan as "Scramble City," and so he has connector ports that are compatible with the Scramble Gestalts. i.e. Metroplex is meant to be a city for their Scramble gestalt teams. The leaders of the Scramble gestalt teams can also connect to Metroplex in their base modes. Metroplex's weapons can also be held by the Scramble team leaders and all the Scramble gestalts (they all use the same peg size). Trypticon can also hook up with Scramble team leaders (in their base modes) too.

It was all a carry-over concept that was originally conceived for Diaclone but aborted when Diaclone was cancelled, so Takara adapted it for Transformers. The interactivity of the Scramble City w/ the Scramble gestalts was more prominently promoted in Japan -- and indeed there was also an OVA called "Transformers Scramble City" that showed off some of the Scramble gimmick thing between the gestalt teams. It's horribly animated and the story is about as awesome as Revenge of the Fallen, so you're not missing out on much. :rolleyes: But yeah, that's why. :)

Check out some of this G1 packaging -- not the "Scramble City" logo:
Encore Metroplex (http://chimungmung.com/images/encore+12_h.jpg)
Aerialbots (limbs) (http://tfsource.com/public_img/reduced-image_1534_106.jpg)
Drag Strip (http://tfsource.com/public_img/reduced-image_1732_106.jpg)
Trypticon (http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_M6ePCSYllQU/SEdbvoKgCVI/AAAAAAAAAMk/Qg4WHTFIkJA/s400/Trypticon.JPG)

[Cat]

Seekers.

I love the idea of an elite Decepticon Air Force.

[janda the red]

^ this.....

Couldn't of put it better.

:)

[rocman12]

The 1986 gestalts can all interchange their limbs, or what the Japanese called "Scramble". Metroplex was marketed/promoted in Japan as "Scramble City," and so he has connector ports that are compatible with the Scramble Gestalts. i.e. Metroplex is meant to be a city for their Scramble gestalt teams. The leaders of the Scramble gestalt teams can also connect to Metroplex in their base modes. Metroplex's weapons can also be held by the Scramble team leaders and all the Scramble gestalts (they all use the same peg size). Trypticon can also hook up with Scramble team leaders (in their base modes) too.

It was all a carry-over concept that was originally conceived for Diaclone but aborted when Diaclone was cancelled, so Takara adapted it for Transformers. The interactivity of the Scramble City w/ the Scramble gestalts was more prominently promoted in Japan -- and indeed there was also an OVA called "Transformers Scramble City" that showed off some of the Scramble gimmick thing between the gestalt teams. It's horribly animated and the story is about as awesome as Revenge of the Fallen, so you're not missing out on much. :rolleyes: But yeah, that's why. :)

Check out some of this G1 packaging -- not the "Scramble City" logo:
Encore Metroplex (http://chimungmung.com/images/encore+12_h.jpg)
Aerialbots (limbs) (http://tfsource.com/public_img/reduced-image_1534_106.jpg)
Drag Strip (http://tfsource.com/public_img/reduced-image_1732_106.jpg)
Trypticon (http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_M6ePCSYllQU/SEdbvoKgCVI/AAAAAAAAAMk/Qg4WHTFIkJA/s400/Trypticon.JPG)

The concept in theory sounds great, but i think they executed it wrong! Big fail in my books! Metroplex doesn't look right with them other limbs connected to him!

Another big fail to me were the action masters! Optimus Prime & Megatron are ok, but the rest were a waste of money. Not proud to say it, but i do have them all!

[Tetsuwan Convoy]

Another big fail to me were the action masters! Optimus Prime & Megatron are ok, but the rest were a waste of money. Not proud to say it, but i do have them all!
Ha ha yeha, considering how the action masters were meant to be action figures, they aren't very action-able ( ? ). If ya know what I mean. I.e a lack of articulation.

[GoktimusPrime]

Another big fail to me were the action masters! Optimus Prime & Megatron are ok, but the rest were a waste of money. Not proud to say it, but i do have them all!
Action Masters are terrible... Transformers that don't transform??? Pppffftt... as a lot of fans have remarked, they were like the "nail that sealed the coffin" for G1. :(

[Cat]

Another big fail to me were the action masters! Optimus Prime & Megatron are ok, but the rest were a waste of money. Not proud to say it, but i do have them all!

Nooo.

I absolutely LOVE Action Masters.

Terrific line. Terrific figures.

I'd love to get more AM homages in modern lines.

[Lint]

Mine has to be Predators/Turbomasters. Any toyline that has projectile launchers that are actually strong enough to knock over a transformer has got to be a winner. Thunderclash's gravity fed launchers and Skyquake's "camera guided" carpet bombing have got to be two of the coolest gimmicks ever :D

Honourable mentions also go out to micromaster combiners, micromaster bases and combiners in general.

[GoktimusPrime]

Thunder Clash's Mega-Missile launcher gimmick is indeed spectacularly awesome! :D A real shame that Hasbro USA totally gutted it when they retooled the mould for Machine Wars Optimus Prime. :(

[Bartrim]

G1 gestalts. I always loved them as a kid but could never afford them. Now I am an adult I am slowly collecting them all.

[Kapryiath]

favorite gimmick? i'd have to go with trucks with trailers that convert into bases/play sets / power ups for robot mode :D

i love them all from landmine ( not quite a truck but you get the point ) to g2 laser prime i think they give so much play-ability which was fantastic when i was younger , and al ot of posability it takes a long time for the figures to get " old" because there is always a different way to have it displayed

favorite sub group would have to be the seekers i love the way they developed there personalities and really managed to "sell" the same toy over and over by giving it a different personality that makes the toys feel like more than just another repaint

[GoktimusPrime]

favorite sub group would have to be the seekers i love the way they developed there personalities and really managed to "sell" the same toy over and over by giving it a different personality that makes the toys feel like more than just another repaint
Agreed, although it's a shame that one of the most interesting Seeker personalities - Thundercracker - is also one of the least developed by writers. :( IDW recently gave him some welcomed character development, but before then he suffered decades of neglect by writers!

I made this skit back in 2003...
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y227/goktimusprime/avatars/madboard01.jpg
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y227/goktimusprime/avatars/madboard02.jpg
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y227/goktimusprime/avatars/madboard03.jpg

[5FDP]

G1 gestalts. I always loved them as a kid but could never afford them. Now I am an adult I am slowly collecting them all.

Just because you earn money doesn't mean you're an adult ;) :p

[GoktimusPrime]

Just because you earn money doesn't mean you're an adult ;) :p
He can trialed as an adult. ;) :p

[Ode to a Grasshopper]

It took some thought, but here's mine: the recent trend towards doing repaints and minor retools of new molds/characters into homages to older characters - especially the obscure ones like Skullgrin and Axor. I try not to get multiples of the same mold (with a few exceptions, like the Seekers and Rumble/Frenzy), so those repaints/updates of 'classic' characters mean I have a lot more Classicsverse TFs - of fairly obscure characters no less - than I would otherwise.
I have to admire it from both the business and engineering perspectives (I mean, Wheeljack and Tracks from the same mold? With distinct-looking robot modes? That's pretty damn cool.), and it's a nice nod to the fandom on Hasbro's part.

[GoktimusPrime]

Yeah, I do like the idea of retooling/repainting moulds as new characters! :D What I like about the idea is that someone at Hasbro is actually putting creative thought into their retool/repaints! We all know that Hasbro benefits from repaints because they get more "bang for their buck" with what they invest into developing new moulds, but we also know that seemingly random or pointless repaints (e.g. Bumblebees!) are about as appealing as being slapped in the face with a live trout and end up peg/shelfwarming. But thoughtful repaints actually give a impetus for people to buy the toy! These are the kinds of repaints Hasbro should be putting more focus on instead of doing all their random repaints that don't sell.

P.S.: Skullgrin's not really obscure - he had a prominent and repeated canonical appearance in G1 and G2 (and later in Dreamwave and IDW). I agree that Axer is pretty obscure though - never had any canonical appearances during G1/G2 or DW -- only ever made a brief "hi then bye" appearance in IDW's Spotlight: Arcee

[klystron]

I'm on the Dinobot bandwagon for favourite sub-group. Some of my favourite combiners (Combaticons, Technobots, Tripredicus) rate a close second.

Gimmick-wise:
Combiners -
I'm a fan (but not owner) of all combiners. I dig the concept of a functional transformer then forming part of a bigger robot. Sometimes simplistically (scramble city) or with a high level of complex engineering (Tripredicus). I also like PCC which is a concept that I think has a lot of untapped potential.
Multichangers -
Triple, six, unoffical, dumb base-modes, whatever. I love TFs with more than one alt mode. :cool:

Are weapons being hidden / incorporated into an alt-mode a gimmick? Cause I'm a fan of that too.

How about fictional gimmicks of TF characters...? Cause the winner there ATMO is definitely Skywarp. In my universe he's like Nightcrawler in the X-MEN movies.
:D

[GoktimusPrime]

Are weapons being hidden / incorporated into an alt-mode a gimmick? Cause I'm a fan of that too.
It's a concept, and I agree it's a darn cool one. Ditto incorporated/self contained accessories like gestalt parts. Aaah, that's why I'd really love to see TakTOM reissue Lio Kaiser!


How about fictional gimmicks of TF characters...? Cause the winner there ATMO is definitely Skywarp. In my universe he's like Nightcrawler in the X-MEN movies.
:D
How far can Nightcrawler teleport? Cos Skywarp's teleportation range is four kilometres. Although I like how Skywarp teleports in and out through purple lights, instead of blue fart clouds. :p "BAMF!" Eeewwww!

[Bartrim]

Just because you earn money doesn't mean you're an adult ;) :p

touche:p

[BigTransformerTrev]

My fav subgroup when I was a kid for setting up battle scenes was always the Combaticons!

Despite the 'Robots In Disguise' concept, I had never really understood, when they were in the middle of a civil war, why more Transformers did not have combat oriented alt-modes. So I used to have my Combaticons set up on the loungeroom floor arranged against the few combat-oriented Autobot alt-mode vehicles I had such as Guzzle.

[GoktimusPrime]

Despite the 'Robots In Disguise' concept, I had never really understood, when they were in the middle of a civil war, why more Transformers did not have combat oriented alt-modes.
There was also a deliberate decision by Hasbro in early G1 that the Autobots would be more "peaceful" civilian vehicles, whereas the Decepticons would be weapons of war or instruments of espionage (cassettes etc.). If you look at the 1984 line up, that's how they were. A similar thing happened with Beast Wars -- most of the Maximals were "warm bloods" and Predacons were mostly "cold bloods," and in Bay's 2007 movie you had Decepticons being "authoritarian vehicles" (army, air force, police) whereas the Autobots are all civilian vehicles. So it's often a thematic choice -- the Combaticons are typical Decepticons, "nasty war vehicles", whereas say the Protectobots are their antithesis as vehicles of search and rescue. As Neil Kaplan once said, the cool thing he loves about RiD Optimus Prime is that he's always a hero - when he's not fighting Predacons and Decepticons, he's helping to put out fires. :)

[griffin]

That's the Hasbro explanation... he's commenting on the story explanation, or the lack of. As in, if they are in a multi-million year old war, why would would ANYONE have a non-military alt-mode.
That's where the fan-speculation comes in to explain Hasbro's toy decisions, within the context of the story universe.

[GoktimusPrime]

Oh right, well... canonically the alt modes on Earth are typically portrayed as their disguise modes and the robot modes as their fighting/warrior modes. The way I see it, it's similar to a predatory animal that disguises itself as something else, but then drops the feint when pouncing on its prey (some fighting styles do that too, like Drunken Boxing). So for example:
+ Bumblebee used his alt mode to get close to Sam Witwicky in order to monitor and protect him. He only transformed to robot mode as a last resort when he had no choice but to stand and fight Barricade to protect Sam and Mikaela.
+ Soundwave used his alt mode in DotM to get close to Carly (and thus also to Sam). The deception of his alt mode allowed him to easily capture Carly as a hostage.
+ DotM Laserbeak uses his varying alt modes to infiltrate all sorts of places, but transforms to robot mode when he needs to do some killin'.
...etc.

Those who happen to have weapons/military vehicles for alt modes are able to fight in thsoe modes too, but that's more by chance -- i.e. they happen to have a diguise that can fight. But ultimately the alt modes' purpose is disguise. On Cybertron the alt modes don't seem to serve the purpose of disguise ('cept for G1 'toon Soundwave) but more as a faster means of locomotion. Or as Trailbreaker once said, "It sure beats walking." :) So I guess on Cybertron the alt modes' purpose is more of versatility rather than disguise.

[ITZTRU]

Fav gimmick:

Mech tech / Powerizer!

(Sorry...I just HAD to. Couldn't resist.)

[GoktimusPrime]

I like Mech Tech. It's a fairly non-obtrusive gimmick and I like how some of the toys have those "pop up covers" that plug up the 5mm holes. (Not personally fond of the LED gimmicks in PRiD though)

[Magnus]

My favourite subgroup would have to be the Aerialbots - the Autobots finally get airborne firepower, Concorde is one of the coolest planes ever built, and they combine!

In terms of gimmicks, as a child it would have been combiners (robots that come together to form a bigger robot = awesome); as an adult collector, Automorph/MechAlive (a good showcase of the movie CGI models' complexity).

[BigTransformerTrev]

My favourite subgroup would have to be the Aerialbots - the Autobots finally get airborne firepower, Concorde is one of the coolest planes ever built, and they combine!



I did really like the Technobots, and sadly its one of the few combiner groups I dont have. The fact they had cybertronian alt-forms and were a combination of ground and air vehicles (like the Combaticons - my fav!) and combined I thought was great. Scattershot in particular, having a 3rd mode of a gun emplacement I thought was very good too. And like the Combaticons, they were combat ready to kick butt in a civil war, rather than turning into just cars and toasters and what have you